Funding is requested for the Santa Cruz Meetings on Developmental Biology, to be held in 2004, 2006, and 2008. The Santa Cruz Meetings on Developmental Biology (SCDB meetings) provide a stimulating and focused forum for discussion of current research by developmental biologists. SCDB meetings are international in scope and are organized to allow extensive participation by junior faculty, postdoctoral fellows, and graduate students. Topics are covered in a thematic format, and emphasize mechanistic and experimental analysis of development. The topics for the 2004 meeting include: pattern formation; morphogenesis and cell migration; evolution and development; stem cells; non-coding RNAs; cellular asymmetry; organogenesis; development of the nervous system, and disease. Speakers are invited from both plant and animal development fields. SCDB meetings last five days and have 40 to 50 platform speakers, of which five to ten are chosen from abstracts submitted to the meeting organizers. The platform sessions are organized to allow ample time for discussions; the extensive discussion periods have been cited as one of the best features of previous SCDB meetings. Posters are continuously displayed and several poster sessions are scheduled in the meeting, as well as time for informal discussions. The 2004, 2006, and 2008 SCDB meetings will build on the success of previous meetings in this series (held in 1992, 1994, 1996, 2000, and 2002) and will take place in even-numbered years (alternating with the Gordon Research Conference on Developmental Biology). The University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC) hosts the SCDB meetings. The conference site is arranged so that platform sessions, posters, accommodation, and dining facilities are in close proximity; access for disabled participants is ensured by UCSC. The UCSC setting is cost effective. Conference logistics are provided by UCSC Conference Services. The UCSC campus is within an hour's drive of the San Francisco Bay Area; travel from nearby airports is simple, but the site is sufficiently isolated and pleasant that speakers and participants tend to stay in residence for the entire meeting. Thus, the SCDB meeting, although modeled on a Gordon Research Conference, has several additional advantages that have made it a popular venue for the Developmental Biology community.